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The Participant - Fall 2017 » Conspiracy Theories are for Losers

Conspiracy Theories are for Losers


Munroe Center for Social Inquiry Fall 2017 Speaker Series
CONSPIRACY THEORY – CONSPIRACY FACT: Understanding a perplexing social phenomenon

Lecture: “Conspiracy Theories are for Losers”

Americans have believed in conspiracy theories since before the United States united. A ceaseless array of conspiracy accusations have demonized witches, Freemasons, foreigners, red coats, black helicopters, Mormons, Muslims, Jews, fifth columns, the government, and more recently, Vladimir Putin. The common assumption is that conspiracy theories are nothing more than the delusions of paranoid minds trying to make sense of an ever-more complicated world. However, the evidence tells a different story. In this talk, Joseph Uscinski will show that conspiracy theories follow a strategic logic: they are tools used by the powerless to attack and defend against the powerful. Conspiracy theories must conform to this logic, or they will not be successful. In this way, conspiracy theories are for losers.

Speaker: Joseph Uscinski is associate professor of political science at University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, and co-author of American Conspiracy Theories (Oxford, 2014).

About Pitzer College

Pitzer College is a nationally top-ranked undergraduate liberal arts and sciences institution. A member of The Claremont Colleges, Pitzer offers a distinctive approach to a liberal arts education by linking intellectual inquiry with interdisciplinary studies, cultural immersion, social responsibility, and community involvement. For more information, please visit www.pitzer.edu.

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The Participant Fall 2017

  • President’s Message: Melvin L. Oliver
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Read the Fall 2017 edition of
The Participant as a PDF
2017 Fall Participant Cover Participant Plus Supplementary multimedia content
Class of 2021
New Student WelcomePhotos & Video

First Days for First-Years

This August, Pitzer’s new students moved into their dorm rooms and set out on orientation adventures to kick off what President Melvin L. Oliver called “an exciting year of growth and discovery.”

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PST: LA/LA
View of "Juan Downey: Radiant Nature" in Nichols Gallery.Photos

Juan Downey: Radiant Nature

This joint exhibition by Pitzer College Art Galleries and LACE opened in September as part of the Getty-led Pacific Standard Time LA/LA initiative. The exhibition explored the works of Chilean-born artist Juan Downey.

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Around the Mounds
MCSI Speaker Matthew DentithMCSI Video

Investigating Conspiracy Theories

Author and podcaster Matthew Dentith examines the case for treating conspiracy theories seriously and investigating them.

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MCSI Speaker Jack BratichMCSI Video

If Everyone is a Conspiracy Theorist, is Anyone?

Rutgers University Professor Jack Bratich takes a critical approach to conspiracy theories at the crossroads of popular and political culture.

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John Jackson, Jr.MCSI Video

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

University of Pennsylvania Professor John L. Jackson, Jr. examines racial and class-based differences in contemporary urban environments.

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Joseph UzcinskiMCSI Video

Conspiracy Theories are for Losers

University of Miami Professor Joseph Uscinski highlights his analysis of more than a hundred years of data taken from newspapers, surveys and the internet.

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Lee BashamMCSI Video

Governing by Crisis: How Toxic Truths Subvert Mainstream Investigation

University of Texas Professor Lee Basham studies the information hierarchy where a few control what most believe.

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Kathryn OlmstedMCSI Video

Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Out to Get You

Author and UC Davis Professor Kathryn Olmsted researches the influence of anticommunism on American politics and policy.

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Nick Schou and Ben CollinsMCSI Video

Contemporary and Classic Conspiracy Theories

Journalists Ben Collins of The Daily Beast and Nick Schou of the OC Weekly talk about recent conspiracy theories.

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